Secrets in Insurgent

SPOILERS


     After reading Divergent by Veronica Roth about a year ago, I finally have my hands on the next book, Insurgent. This series takes place in a future Chicago where society is divided into five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Something I've noticed about these books is the huge impact that secrets have on the characters and story. This is true in most books, but it's especially prominent in Insurgent. The book's tagline is "One choice can destroy you," and so can secrets. I connected the way people have secrets in Insurgent to the way they have them in real life.
     Many people keep secrets for their safety or that of someone else. The main character, Tris, and her boyfriend are Divergent - they are suited for more than one of their society's five factions. The Divergent are immune to mind-controlling serums, usually called simulations. Anybody who is Divergent must keep it a secret. The Erudite (the intelligent faction) will kill any Divergent they find, likely to prevent there from being uncontrollable citizens. The Divergent were eventually revealed by a sleeping gas that did not affect them, and that made them far more vulnerable. In real life, most secrets aren't life-or-death scenarios, but it does show that some secrets should be kept... And that all secrets come to light eventually.
     Of course, some people also keep secrets for their own purposes. Tris' boyfriend, Four's father beat him when he was young, and he kept it a secret out of fear, and to try to save his dignity. Tris killed her friend Will when he was under a mind-control serum, and kept it secret until a lie-detector test forced her to reveal it. When she's asked what she regrets, she responds: "I regret... [shooting] Will, while he was under the simulation." These secrets are a little more like the ones people have today (although most people haven't shot their mind-controlled friend). The motivations behind these secrets are much more similar to secrets we have - to save friendships, to keep one's dignity, out of fear, or out of guilt.
     Despite the fact that secrets cause so many problems, it's difficult not to have them. The Candor are the truthful faction, and they do not allow secrets. When you become part of the Candor, you have to be asked personal questions under truth serum. Because they are truthful all the time, other factions see Candor as abrasive and mean. Similarly, the Abnegation are the selfless faction, and they believe that keeping secrets is selfish. They are called 'Stiffs' and are made fun of for being the strictest faction. These groups recognize the danger and potential harm of keeping secrets but they're looked down upon for it.
     The way people keep secrets in Insurgent, which is not at all a realistic book, is mostly the same as the way people keep secrets in real life. Characters that have secrets inevitably have them revealed, and characters that try not to have secrets are ridiculed. There's no middle ground.